The use of needles to access sites within organs is fundamental to many interventional medical
procedures both for diagnosis and treatment. Safely and accurately navigating a needle …

Lung cancer is one of the deadliest types of cancer, and early diagnosis is crucial for
successful treatment. Definitively diagnosing lung cancer typically requires biopsy, but current …

Concentric tube and steerable needle robots provide minimally invasive access to confined
or remote spaces in the human body. While the modeling and control of these devices has …

The maximum curvature of a steerable needle in soft tissue is highly sensitive to needle shaft
stiffness, which has motivated use of small diameter needles in the past. However, desired …

Toward the future goal of creating a lung surgery system featuring multiple tentacle-like
robots, we present a new folding concept for continuum robots that enables them to squeeze …

Towards reducing the invasiveness of radical prostatectomy, we have designed a robotic
system for performing it transurethrally. Suturing to attach the urethra to the bladder (ie …

Steerable needles that are able to follow curvilinear trajectories and steer around anatomical
obstacles are a promising solution for many interventional procedures. In the lung, these …

Robotic ground vehicles are commonly used in various road conditions for performing
special tasks with different levels of autonomy. This requires the robots to possess a certain …

Soft robots have garnered great interest in recent years due to their ability to navigate complex
environments and enhance safety during unplanned collisions. However, their softness …

Bronchoscopic diagnosis and intervention in the lung is a new frontier for steerable needles,
where they have the potential to enable minimally invasive, accurate access to small …